The Beatniks on Conkey venue has been around since January 2008 when launched by co-founders and co-owners Rip Johnson and his wife, Bonnie.
The venue is open to all with the mission of creating “a welcoming space for new and experimental ideas, offering a local stage for region-based playwrights, musicians, painters, poets, and all talents.”
Hammond Community Theatre is one of the staple talents of the space and this month has a new run of the play “The Ghost in the Meadow” by Joe Simonelli and directed by Phil Myers, with concluding weekend showtimes at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. at 420 Conkey Street in Hammond.
“The Ghost in the Meadow” is best described as “a good old-fashioned ghost story of two sisters who relocate from Manhattan to an old farmhouse in upstate New York and soon realize they may not be alone in their new/old home.” The plot takes a twist when an old boyfriend drops in while strange occurrences require the help of a psychic to attempt to quell restless spirits. The script was written based on “The Legend of the Blue Boy.”
Tickets are $20 in cash only, sold at the door, or at www.hammondcommunitytheatre.org/ghost.html, or at www.cur8.com/22368/project/139971, or call 219-852-0848 for reservations. Seating is limited; advance ticket sales are encouraged.
‘RADIO’ FAVORITES
Pop and rock vocal Duo Radio Recall is live in concert 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Munster High School, 8808 Columbia Ave. in Munster, with single tickets available on the day of the performance for $30, or call 219-932-9795, or online at www.lakeshoreconcerts.org. All seating is general admission, with the Munster High School Auditorium 1,000-seat capacity. Broadway star Aaron LaVigne is paired with his “Jesus Christ Superstar” co-star Jenna Rubaii as “Radio Recall,” the duo’s concert touring salute to the biggest radio hits of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s featuring chart toppers into the 2000s and showcasing songs like Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time” and 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?’’ The concert is billed as “blending the raw energy of favorite rock anthems and acoustic ballads with a type of stage story-telling that only Broadway veterans can deliver.” Lakeshore Community Concerts has been presenting concerts to the community since 1947 and is committed “to offer to every man, woman and child the opportunity to experience the magic of live performance at an affordable cost.”
HOLLYWOOD SCRUTINY
Chicago writer, producer and performer Carla Gordon is bringing the multi-media story and song revue titled “Blacklisted: A Multimedia Musical Telling of Hollywood Stars Blacklisted in the 1950s” to Theatre at the Center in Munster on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 3 p.m. at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Gordon directed her latest incarnation of the revue a year ago with music direction by Beckie Menzie at Chicago’s Sherwood Recital Hall at Columbia College in November 2025. Among the roster of luminaries showcased are Judy Holliday and Zero Mostel; composers Leonard Bernstein, Marc Blitzstein, Elmer Bernstein and Yip Harburg; singers Hazel Scott, Lena Horne and Paul Robeson; and writer Studs Terkel. In addition to Gordon and Menzie’s double duties directing and performing, their fellow cast members are Cynthia Clarey, Carla Gordon, David Meulemans and Robert Sims, creating an immersive concert blending history, humor and song in what Gordon describes as “a deeply engaging experience.” Tickets are $35 for “Blacklisted” and available by calling 219-836-3255 or visiting www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
EVENING WITH EDGAR
Six stories from the literary giant Edgar Allan Poe take the stage spotlight in “An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe” presented by the Holdcraft Players at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center at 1200 Spring St. in Michigan City. An author with a penchant for spooky and bone-chilling subject matter, the production directed by Maegan Jackson and Arturo Pozos with mentorship by Tony Thomas highlights six of Poe’s works, including “The Purloined Letter,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether” and “The Oblong Box.” Audiences are seated in either the band room or choir room when they arrive and “switch rooms” after intermission to watch the remainder of the production. Performances are 7 p.m. Oct. 16, 17, 23 and 24 and 2 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and are available by visiting www.yptcinc.com.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at [email protected].